Charles Alfred Barber

(10 November 1860 – 23 February 1933) was a British botanist and specialist on sugarcane, who worked for much of his life in southern India.

Saccharum barberi, a species of sugarcane that grows wild in northern India is named after him.

He was a pioneer in the nobilization of wild canes in India, by producing hybrids between wild and hardy local species and the high-sugar-yielding cultivated Saccharum officinarum that could survive the cold winters of northern India.

[1][2][3] Charles Alfred Barber worked on many aspects of sugarcane breeding and in basic botany.

These included hybrids between local and hardy canes from India which are now called Saccharum barberi after him and the tropical high-sugar yielding Saccharum officinarum which did not survive in the winter of northern India.